Eldritch Horror Theatre

Even back when they last crossed paths, that all-encompassing, inescapable market of salted fish aura the Old Man carried had felt suspicious.

The methods he was displaying right now only reinforced that impression.

It inevitably brought to mind a certain pillar of the world brimming with curses and chaos.

As they waited, setting aside whether Serana would gain anything tonight, Fu Qian felt he had already gained quite a lot for himself.

The intelligence gathered over many days and the numerous lingering doubts all fell into place.

Take Blazing Rainbow, one of the Old Man’s covenant partners—why had They suddenly thought of digesting The Abyss?

Even the Warehouse had specifically analyzed this: because The Abyss was inherently chaotic, it actually remained relatively intact. No matter how one looked at it, it was no easy thing to digest.

What if there was an innate advantage inside, though?

What if one’s own Covenanter could infiltrate it as a mole?

Back during that mission, the element of the cat had felt somewhat out of place.From start to finish, it had acted like nothing more than an animal, showing no exaggerated power.

Even its appearance had nothing to do with color—its fur was purely black and white. Yet it had turned out to be the Origin of Colors, the crux of the entire incident.

Once he later learned that Henry was a Covenanter of Blazing Rainbow, that detail about the Origin of Colors began to make sense.

Perhaps the Old Man had not taken part in person, but Blazing Rainbow clearly possessed symbolic manifestations of power in a similar form.

Yet why could the cat, as the Origin of Colors, also reshape The Abyss?

Before, he had simply chalked it up to a display of Excellency Blazing Rainbow’s mighty power. Looking at it now, there had likely been some clever trickery involved—the cat’s connection to The Abyss was no ordinary thing either, which was why it could infiltrate so effectively.

And the Old Man might really have taken part in it, without even knowing it himself.

Possessing the traits of both color and The Abyss at once felt like something only a servant of two masters like him could pull off.

If Blazing Rainbow had simply fashioned a random cat out of thin air, it should not have achieved that kind of effect.

Was this the helplessness of walking the path of covenants? Dragged off to do under-the-table work before he even knew it, only to be swallowed by a toad in the end?

Wait a second—didn’t that mean he had actually picked this guy up by the scruff of his neck?

Clicking his tongue in wonder, Fu Qian felt he was thoroughly beyond salvaging when it came to the virtue of respect the aged and honor the wise.

What was more, once he followed this line of thought, everything before wasn’t even the most spine-chilling part—had Blazing Rainbow really just been turning trash into treasure, squeezing some use out of a disobedient Covenanter? Being a servant of two masters was such a rare circumstance, acting as the pillar of one house and the roof beam of another...

Were Old Man Henry’s ruthless methods of resistance truly an ode to liberty or death, or was even that struggle well within someone’s grasp?

Could even his second covenant partner have been handpicked for him by Blazing Rainbow?

...

How sinister the heart of a God was—to be this ruthless even to Their own Covenanter?

Without showing a trace on his face, Fu Qian seemed to have quietly untangled a certain old case, along with some far more horrifying secrets lurking behind it.

What followed was a deep sympathy for a certain multicolored big cat of The Abyss.

Having even one’s will to resist exploited really did resemble Excellency Blazing Rainbow’s style.

”An interesting line of thought. Worth a try.”

Naturally, there was no need to rush into telling the Old Man about such things. At that moment, Fu Qian simply nodded, signaling that the other man’s idea was intriguing.

It was not polite flattery; among all the attempts they could make, whether a method would cause targeted stimulation was a crucial question.

That was also why Fu Qian was so cautious about using Annalise’s Lies. Between ”Annalise or Tilanqi,” the Red Moon’s state was truly fragile; adding even the slightest weight to the other end of the scales might keep Them from holding out until he crossed over again.

And whether the Old Man’s plan worked or not, its greatest feature seemed to be that it treated everyone equally.

An anonymous broadcast across all channels.

As far as the Red Moon’s symptoms went, the impact should be kept relatively small.

Besides, it also explained why the Old Man hadn’t just used it in secret without reporting it to avoid trouble from the Night Watchers.

With an all-domain broadcast like this, the Night Watchers might well pick it up directly.

”Thank you for your trouble, Excellency. I’m ready.”

In any case, even the person directly involved shared the same attitude, looking thoroughly on board with Henry’s plan.

With her own advancement at stake, Serana had wasted no time, leaving and returning in just a moment.

And as mentioned earlier, she had clearly heard every word of the three’s conversation.

So much so that she voiced her approval right away, saving Old Man Henry the trouble of even explaining.

”So the outfit is part of the ritual too?”

Fu Qian was not at all surprised by her reaction.

Looking at Serana upon her return, he commented on her attire.

In that short span of time, she had actually gone out of her way to change clothes.

A classic black-and-red palette, its elegant cut carrying a touch of decadent flair, accented with gold-thread embroidery so lavish it bordered on ostentatious—it had all the style of the Blood Clan.

”Call it a tradition, though sadly I haven’t worn it in years.”

Lightly brushing a palm over her tightly cinched waist, Serana spoke with a hint of nostalgia.

Going by what she said, the outfit was more symbolic than anything else, rather like wearing red underwear in one’s zodiac year.

All in all, even for an overly hasty advancement ritual, she was giving it her utmost effort.

”Shall we head over to the central hall?”

Giving herself no chance to back out, she sought her guests’ opinion the very next moment, stepping formally toward her destiny.

...

”I’m ready. Please begin.”

None of the guests were the sort to dawdle, and they soon followed her to the raised platform at the center of the Great Hall.

Under their intent gaze, Serana took her place right in the middle without hesitation.

After a round of preparations, looking down at the rows of empty pews below, she gave Henry a nod to signal that everything was in order.

At her rather generous sweetheart neckline, the starry rose had already surfaced once more.

”Relax. It won’t touch you.”

Old Man Henry was brisker still, stepping forward at once.

As his clawed fingers moved with an unhurried grace, he even offered a casual word of reassurance.

It really was...

As an onlooker, Fu Qian watched the Old Man’s technique closely.

That hand closed in steadily on Serana where she stood, moving far more slowly than before.

Faint ripples were already appearing along the way. Yet just as the Old Man had promised, the shadow spared Serana’s body alone, never passing through her.

Instead, as the ripples wove together, they stirred up a silhouette that looked like her shadow.

Snap—

At a certain moment, Fu Qian almost thought he heard a faint pop. Old Man Henry’s hand finally came to a halt, his fingertip no more than a palm’s breadth from those blood-red eyes.

And as if punctured by that single finger, the shadow-like silhouette gave way; every ripple reversed course in an instant, surging outward in the opposite direction.